Help me make the best of a change in plans!

[mad hatter fan]

I posted earlier about Fantasmic being removed from our dates in Janurary. Well now I noticed that the last date Fantamic is showing is Sunday Jan. 14th, the day after we fly in to CA. Now we were not planning on having our first park day until Tue. after the holiday. We will be in CA for two weeks and spending time with my family and 8 days at Disneyland.

Now the reason I need some help is that changing to have our first park day be Sunday is less than ideal. We will be flying into LAX about 11 PM on Saturday from MN so our body time will be more like 1 AM. We are staying that first night only about 1 mile from the airport. I was planning on letting the kids sleep in.

I also had planned on avoiding the extra crowds of the holiday weekend. Now we will have our first park day on a very busy Saturday and we may not arrive at DL until after lunch. How do I plan the day so the kids still enjoy their first day in the park in spite of the crowds. (I am so much a get there by opening person that I am unsure how to plan a day when we don't) And how early should we stake out our spots for Fantasmic so the younger kids can have a good view too? Also, what rides, shows etc would you recomend planning on doing on a crowded afternoon and evening? Remember, we will have 7 more park days over the two weeks. I just want my kids to really enjoy their first day. Thanks everyone!

 

[Albort]

Ideally, hitting Disneyland first(hoping that they wont be maxed out) and grab the first fastpasses to your favorite ride. leave DLR and head into DCA. Play there until like 4PM and head back into DLR around 5PM. start hitting the rides.

 

[iceskatejen]

I know this will sound really early, but on a holiday weekend, grab your Fantasmic spots at least 3-4 hours early for then 9pm show (you might want to wander by the area around 4-5 or so and see if people are staking out spots yet--if they are get yours). Bring a blanket big enough for everyone to sit on and take turns for the next couple of hours going on rides and getting food and whatnot. By 8pm, everyone should be back and on the blanket (except for restroom runs) because it gets really hard to get in and out of the area. Whatever you do, don't eat during the show and make sure all food is covered. Because of the nature of the show, you might get wet and you don't want that water getting on your food. I did that once and lets just say the results were less than pleasant.

 

[azgal81]

Our dates fell on MLK weekend last year (we are going a few days after this year) and we were expecting huge crowds. It was not that crowded. I thought it was worse in the summer! We actually walked up about 30 minutes before fantasmic started and got a great seat. I think we saw the 10:30 show though which is generally less crowded.

 

[stampinshauna]

Weather can be iffy that time of year so the crowds may not be that bad. We were there the Saturday of MLK weekend last year and it was rainy and not crowded at all. It was great!

 

[Zoemakes5]

Since it's your first day, and you'll have 7 days total, I'd do a totally casual day. If you were only going for 2 or 3 days to the parks, I'd suggest something different, but with 7 days, let the kids sleep in. Get to DL whenever you get there. Maybe plan some DtD time, build a bear if you were planning to do it. Do shopping at WoD. Plan a couple of rides, get dinner resies, maybe a character meal, go on a few rides, or maybe go/see things you don't usually get a chance to. Get some books or games or both and get a spot very early for Fantasmic. Even if it might not otherwise be busy, I'd imagine Fantasmic will be because it's the last day.
But, I wouldn't have it a go go go day with everyone being there at opening and trying to get in all the rides. I, too, live in MN, and that late night flight catches up with you and it can be a pretty negative day at DL if they're tired and cranky and frustrated.